Challenges in the Philippines + video in Tagalog

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After I left the Philippines in 2011, I settled into Austin and began my ASL mission. Before that story moved on, I wanted to wrap up what happened during my time learning Tagalog.

The last time I updated I had just moved into the cottage on White Beach in Puerto Galera. My plan was to speak as much Tagalog with those working on the beach as I could during the week and then use weekends for when the beach would be packed with Manila tourists to really get some conversation practice. Didn't quite work out so easy!!

A note from the Fluent in 3 Months team before we get started: You can chat away with a native speaker for at least 15 minutes with the “Fluent in 3 Months” method. All it takes is 90 days. Tap this link to find out more.

Trouble in paradise

After a short time in Puerto Galera, I started to realise that it was actually a very bad decision to move there for the purposes of what I wanted to achieve in the Philippines! Unfortunately to save money on not paying per day, I had already paid for rental for an entire month on the cottage, so leaving was too complicated.

I chose Puerto Galera on the advice of people I met in Cebu. I wanted a lively Tagalog-speaking place outside Manila, and the city's air pollution had put me off staying there. A well-visited beach seemed as if it would have plenty going on. I had learned languages in touristy cities such as Rio and Rome, so I thought I could create the same social routine here.

But this was the first time in a while that I was attempting to learn a language in a small place like this. There were indeed things to do; I could continue my diving lessons to reach Advanced (and even added a Nitrox certificate to it for good measure), I got several diving lessons in French and spoke more French than English on the beach due to the amount of French tourists there were, there were parties almost every night, people from all around the world, and even a music festival with concerts. In fact, taking advantage of the tourists I spoke nearly all my languages on a regular basis!

So I did indeed have a lot of fun!

However, I didn't manage to find the social balance I needed to speak the local language as often as I usually do. Many of the local people I met were working long days in restaurants or shops. They were busy while working and tired afterwards. I couldn't find many people around my age who had time to socialise with a visitor.

I did have Filipino friends who were not working full-time, but they came from other parts of the country and did not use Tagalog as their main spoken language, although they understood it.

This hiccup cost me progress because most of my conversations were brief and superficial. It was a reminder that trying to speak is not enough on its own. I also need recurring social situations where people have time and interest in talking.

It turns out the Manila tourists would only come for one or two days maximum and be in tight groups not so interested in meeting others.

In general, as much fun as I did have, I can't say I had the best time there. A beach destination like that sounds like a dream come true, but it's really more suited to groups of people. As a single traveller, I will be avoiding such places for more than weekend trips from now on.

People ask me a lot if travelling by myself is “lonely”. The short answer is NO – it got me out of my shell of shyness and I have many deep relationships with people I meet when I genuinely live in a city, even if just for a few months. However, my time on this beach was frustrating and a bit lonely due to how superficial friendships with people just passing through was bound to be.

Good opportunity to learn about learning

I had been studying during that month in Puerto Galera, but I had very little speaking practice. Books and audio helped my comprehension, and I could enjoy watching television in Tagalog, but they did not give me enough practice producing the language in conversation.

Rather than be full of regrets, this is part of the learning and experimentation process. When people think that the only challenges in reaching fluency are grammar and vocabulary I feel like they have very bad tunnel vision. Speaking a language is made up of so many factors, mostly influenced by social, psychological and lifestyle factors. Many of these will help you progress fast. And in my case, this time the challenge in finding the right people to even practise with due to choosing a touristy beach to live in was what held me back.

Ironically, it would have been easier for me to speak Tagalog consistently in many places outside of the Philippines 😛

As always, any mistakes are to be considered ways that you learn what not to do. And this is no exception 🙂 The language itself posed no major problems, and I actually quite liked it as explained here.

But the first weeks of travelling and the one month of barely speaking meant that I didn't find the consistent immersion environment I usually rely on, so I didn't precisely reach the conversational level I was hoping for. I could have limited conversations on particular topics, could speak myself slowly, and could understand the vast majority of what I'd see on TV or what someone would say when speaking to me if they did it slowly. (Interestingly enough, TV was easier since a lot of shows use a lot of Taglish, especially compared to how people speak outside of Manila).

This level I'm at is actually a pretty good place to be after just one month of genuine work (since I didn't do anything with Tagalog while travelling in Cebu), but it's less than what I tend to aim for and less than my target to speak like I could in Hungarian after two months.

Things got way better back in Manila!

Despite spending much of the trip without regular speaking practice, I noticed clear improvements during my final days in Manila.

In hindsight, Manila would probably have suited me better because I find it easier to build a social routine in a large city. My first stay in Ermita had given me a poor impression of the air and the area, but another district felt different when I returned.

On the second visit I stayed in another part of the city and felt much more comfortable. Had I explored more neighbourhoods at the beginning, I might have settled in Manila for the full two months. That was another useful lesson.

Manila would have suited me better because once I got back, I got into the usual flow I tend to have, meeting lots of people and practising nearly all the time. I progressed a lot in those last days!! If I had kept it up for several weeks, I would have actually gone beyond what I had done in Hungarian.

Singing Karaoke in Tagalog!

Since I promised a video anyway, here it is!

It shares something I did do in Tagalog a lot, even in Puerto Galera: singing. I had already shared songs in German and French. I introduced this video in spoken Tagalog so you can hear my general flow at the time, including the hesitations and gaps I still had.

In the intro I say:

[I'd like to share some Filipino karaoke with you! Karaoke is popular in the Philippines, where the term “videoke” is also widely used for sing-along systems with lyrics and video on a screen. Now, I'll sing to you!]

You might recognise the first song as the pop song “Umbrella”. This Karaoke machine didn't have the lyrics of that song in Tagalog, but I didn't need them after hearing it on the radio so much 😛 That's why there is actually English behind me that I'm ignoring.

Next is a Taglish song that English speakers may partly understand. Pare is an informal way to address a male friend. Finally, I tried a rap song with the line “I'm Filipino!” I ended with Maraming salamat, or “Thank you very much.”

What I was actually hoping to do was to record this in a public place that has Karaoke machines that look like weird video arcade machines, which I never saw before going to the Philippines. But after walking around for a few hours we could only find private stalls like this. It's a pity as the environment with the silly old machines is much more fun – but apparently they are only really popular in the provinces.

Karaoke is so huge in the Philippines that it seemed appropriate for me to make the Tagalog video around this 🙂

Filipinos

I was sad to leave Manila. I was starting to have a lot of fun there, and I could breathe more comfortably in the area where I stayed.

My favourite part of the country, apart from the karaoke, was the people I met. Many were friendly, open and encouraging when I tried to use Tagalog. The experience left me eager to return, choose a base that suited me better and get to know more people.

At the time, I knew I would be busy with other languages and would not actively maintain my Tagalog. I still hoped to return to it later. I did not get to know people through the language as deeply as I had hoped, but using Tagalog helped me notice conversations and cultural details that I would otherwise have missed.

If you go to the Philippines and live around Manila, then I highly recommend you give it a try. Start dropping words into your English speech immediately to ease in with some Taglish and go out and sing a few karaokes 🙂

And keep it warm for me for when I get back 😉

Maraming salamat!